The Sun. — London, England, 1838-03-21 00:00:00

ELECTION COMMITTEES. (YESTERDAY.) (From our Second Edition of last night.) HULL. After the arguments of Counsel had been concluded, the Committee-room was cleared. On our re-admission, the Chairman said the Committee had come to the resolution that Mr. Wilberforce, the sitting Member, was not duly qualified. The Committee were unanimously of opinion that, in point of value, there was a sufficient qualification, but upon the legal point they thought there was not. The vote of Matthew Griswood was then objected to, on the ground of his having received parochial relief. Alter the examination of witnesses, the Chairman said the Committee were unanimously of opinion that the vote must be struck off. SHAFTESBURY. The votes of Robert Waring, and three others were struck off the sitting Member's poll, which, however, left him in a majority of two. DUBLIN. Benjamin Smith, collector of the parish of St. Nicholas nithout, was next called and examined by Mr. WRANOHAM. He stated that he had collected the rates due on the premises 77, Francis -street, for the year, 1836, on the Bth June, 1837 ; and the rates for the year, 1837, on the 4th Ootober last. Cross examined by Mr. AUSTIN. lied a warrant when he collected the tax for 1837. The warrants for 1837 were re newed within the last four or fire months. To General JOHNSON--." Received the former warrant on bi= appointment, about three years since." To Mr. AUSTIN—" Cannot tell the precise date at which the warrants were renewed, but if allowed to refer to a docu ment in his pocket (the warrant itself) he would be able to st tte it." _ . An argument then took place as to whether the witness should be allowed to refresh his memory with the document, without putting it in in evidence, which Mr. AUSTIN objected t his doing, but it was finally put an end to by that gentle man waiving the question which gave rise to it. Another discussion ensued as to the order of proceeding, Mr. TnESSIGER contending that he had a right to treat every objection to the vote as a distinct case in itself; while, on the other hand, it was urged that he was bound to conclude the entire case against the vote, before Counsel for the sitting Members could be called upon to reply. There being no likelihood of Counsel agreeing among them selves as to the course of proceeding, the CHAIRMAN said that the Committee would be obliged to take the matter into their own hands. The room was accordingly ordered to be cleared, aed on the re-admission of strangers, the CHAIRMAN announced that they had decided that Counsel for petitioners should pro ceed with some of his cases with respect to this vote. Mr. THESSIGER then applied for an adjournment till to-mor row, as the day was now far advanced, and he was not exactly prepared to proceed with the other cases against the vote. There being no objection offered on the other side, the Committee accordingly adjourned at three o'clock. YOUGHAL. Two other votes were decided for the sitting Member, and Mr. PoLtocx, on the part of the petitioners stated that it was now considered hopeless to proceed further in impugning the votes of the sitting Member, and to save the time of the Cbmmittoo and expence to both parties, he withdrew his case. The Committee resolved that Mr. Howard was duly elected. PRIVATE BUSINESS OF PARLIA- MENT.-(YESTERDAY.) (From our Second Edition of last night. ) SUB-COMMITTEE ON PETITIONS(No.2.) Mr. ROBERT PALMER in the Chair. Southampton Dock3.—Petition fcr Bill, from the Dock Ccutpany, read, to extend the time for the purchase of land, granted by the old Act ; notices proved ; unopposed ; S:and orders complied with. Tramore (Waterford) Drainage.—Petition from solicitor for leave to petition for Bill—read. The petition stated that the solicitor had been under a mistake as regar3ed the time limited for presenting such petitions. The prayer of petitioner now was that leave be granted. Leave granted accordingly. Moy Navigation.—Petition from Navigation Company for leave to go on with a Bill formerly petitioned for, and in ilich they were staid upon a point of Standing Orders. The CHAIRMAN stated that, in his opinion, this Committee l:ad no power to report to the effect " thit the parties be permitted to proceed with their Bill,"—which was the prayer of the present petitioners. That was, he thought, a point for the consideration of the House, not for the Committee on p titions. After a conversation pro. and con., between the Chairman and the Agent for the petition, the former withdrew, to consult with the Speaker, as to the usage in such cases. On his re turn he stated that the Speaker agreed with him in opinion ; that the Committee did not possess the power of reporting ac cording to prayer of the petitioners. Ultimately it was decided atilt a special report should be made to the House of the circumstances of the case, when it would be open to any Ni:mnber to move " that the parties be permitted to proceed with their Bill." _ _ Belfast Water-works (No. 1), and Belfast Water-works ( No. 2).—Petition of the President and Assistants of the Bel fast Water-works Company read, for Bill for a more adequate o upply of water to the town of Belfast. Petition against the Bill read, from the Lord of the Manor of Belfast, complaining that the Standing Orders had not been complied with. The question of notices was gone into. Notices proved. It was then objected that the Standing Order, No. 2, page 22, .kad not been complied with. That order directs " that the 'plan' shall describe the brooks and streams to be directly diverted into such intended cut, canal, re servoir, aqueduct or navigation, or into such variation, extension, or enlargement, for supplying the same with water, and the section still specify the levels of both banks of such cur, canal, reservoir, aqueduct, or navigation, and describe the same by feet and inches." A very lengthened argument ensued upon these points, and particularly as to the level of tke reservoir, which it was con tended the section did not specify. Mr Cubitt, the builder and engineer, was then exa mined, from whose evidence it appeared that the sec tion did not specify the level of the reservoir, accord ing to the Standing Orders, and although cross-exa mined by the Surveyor of the Belfast waterworks, he confirmed his opinion by various scientific illustrations ; and further that it did not show the surface of the ground marked upon the plan :—and that such an alleged specifica tion as this of the parties for the Bill could not be considered sufficient to satisfy any proprietors whose land the reservoir was intended to occupy. The room was then cleared, when it was decided that the Standing Order had not been complied with on the section as to the level of the reservoir. The Committee then adjourned until to-morrow at one o'clock. COMMITTEE ON BILL—(MIDDLESEX LIST.) Necropolis Cemetery.—There not being sufficient Mem b Ts to form a Committee, this case was adjourned to this day week. STEAM NAVIGATION OF THE ATLANTIC. The experiment of a steam voyage from England to Ame rica is now on the very eve of a trial, although not by any of the competitors who have been so long in the field. It is an nounced that the Sirius, a steamer which, we believe, has been for some time on the station between Bristol and Cork, will take her departure for New York from the port of London at the latter end of the present month, proceeding in the first instance for Cork, from whence she will start for her final destination on the second of April ; and so confident are her owners that her voyage, which they expect will be completed in fifteen days, will prove a short one, that they already an nounce her setting out from New York for the return-voyage on " the Ist of May." The Sirius is a vessel of 700 tons, with engines of 320-horse power, and it does not appear that he is to be prepared in any very peculiar manner for a voyage so mush longer than she has ever been accustomed to take, and which is even looked upon by some " learned Thebans" in much the same light, in point of practicability, as a trip to the moon The idea cannot, however, be more completely ridi culed than was that of a voyage up the Niger in an iron-steam vessel—yet that was accomplished without difficulty ; and, perhaps, some confidence in the present plan may be inspired by the fact that the agency (not the command) of the Sirius is intrusted to Mr. Macgregor Laird, the commander of the expedition in which an iron steamer was first used in Africa. Although the Sirius bids fair to carry off the honour of showing the way, the _numerous other steam-vessels which have been for some time building expressly for the purpose of navigating the Atlantic, will not be far in her wake. The Victoria, now on the stocks at L'lackwall, is in a very forward state : she is acid to be the largest steamer ever built; her length is 270 feet, and she has been constructed with the utmost possible attention to solidity, as well as to that scarcely less important point, the comfort of her passengers. The Bristol vessel, the Great Western, is of course in a much more forward con dition, as she only came round to the river to ship her en gines, after the shipwrights had completed their work at her native port. She is now chiefly detained for her fittings-up, which are intended to be on a scale of splendour surpassing even that of the " New York Liners," (sailing vessels), which have hitherto been looked upon as models of the superb style in pasleuger ships. Some idea may be formed of the spirit with w;iich this object is pursued from the fact that Mr. Par ;ris, the artist of the panorama of London at the Colosseum, snd of the " Flowers of Lovelines s ," an d ot h er popu l ar collee tieo,s, is busily engaged in decor a ti ng t h e sa l oons w i t h exqui sitelr finisheti paintings from h is own or i g i na l des i gns. Be s'ides these slii7s from London to Bristol, there are at least two preparing for iron game purpose at Liv er p oo l, one b uilt en tirely of cast ; and the whole are expected to be ready for the voyage before the spring is far advanced. Nor is Brother Jonathan idle (although farther in the back grou n d t h an cus tomary, like Liverpool, which had to take a lesson on this sub ject from her usually dilatory rival, Bristol ;)—au immense steamer for the voyage to Europe has been for some time in preparation at New York, and is to be fitted with engines on a new construction, which, according to their inventor, are quickly to supersede all that are now in use.--Mechanws Magazine. TEMPERANCE SOCIETy.—On Monday, the 12th ; Infant, a meeting of the New Temperance or Total Absti n lice Society, was held at the Shire Hall. The meeting we.; MOI lit numerously attended than any before held on the subject, i n th is neighbourhood, the County Ball Room being filled ; a great • portion of the assembly were ladies, but many of the working '•classes were also present. —Essex Herald. IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT, HOUSE OF COMMONS, MARCH 20. In consequence of the Ballots for the Kerry and Newry elections, the gallery did not open till after half-past Four o'clock. ........ YOUGHAL ELECTION. Colonel LYG ON appeared at the bar and stated that the Committee, appointed to try the merits of the petition against the return for the borough of Youghal, had determined that the sitting Member, F. J. Howard, Esq., had been duly returned, and that the petition, or the opposition to it, was neither frivolous or vexatious. The Committee also reported that they had altered the poll by striking off the names of several of the voters. DENNISTOUN presented a petition against certain clauses of the Glasgow Waterworks Bill. KERRY ELECTION. The Clerk of Committees appeared at the Bar with the re duced list of the Kerry Election Committee, which contained the following names :—John Pembei ton Plumptre, W. Battie Wrightson, Sir John Mordaunt, W. Pinney, W. Goodenough Hayter, John Philpott, Lord Viscount Melgund, Joseph Cripps, Aaron Chapman, Thomas Mackenzie, Joseph Pease. GLASGOW WATER-WORKS. Lord WILLIAM BENTINCK presented two petitions against the Glasgow Water-works Bill ; one from the Magis trates of the town, and the other from the Commissioners of Police. THE SUN, LONDON, W EDNESDAY, MARCH 21, 1838. SLAVERY. Colonel SA LWE Y presented a petition from Ludlow for the abolition of the Negro Apprenticeship System. Mr. HUME presented a petition from Mr. Gillespie, Billi ter-street, London, against the Coal Monopoly, and praying to be heard against it before the House. Also a petition from Sir H. Bedingfield, of Norfolk, stating that some property belonging to his family had been confiscated, and granted to a Society called " The New England Company for Diffusing the Gospel in New England," and vested in certain Trustees, which Trustees had been continued down to the present period ; but the object for which the Company had been established had long since ceased, and he prayed that " as the Charity Commissioners could not take the case into their consideration, the House would direct such inquiries as they thought fit into the subject." He (Mr. H.) thought it a matter worthy of the consideration of the House, and he would move for certain returns connected with it. The Hon. Member then presented petitions from Worthing and from Mallow in favour of the Ballot; also two petitions against the Bible Monopoly. The House was aware that there were at present in England and Scotland individuals who had the sole right of printing the Bible ; and the pe titioners prayed that this monopoly might be abolished. He wished to state in reference to these petitions that they were of great importance, inasmuch as within the last year the patentees had endeavoured to stop the printing of Bibles with annotations, which had not been attempted for fifty years before. The Hon. Member presented another petition from Dumfries, noticing the present unfortunate state of affairs in Canada, and expressing a hope that Lord Durham might be despatched to that colony with as little delay as possible, with a view to the satisfactory adjustment of the grievances com plained of by its inhabitants. NEWRY ELECTION. The Clerk of the Committees appeared at the Bar with the reduced list of Members appointed to serve on this Committee as follows :—William Taylor Copeland, Lord Teignmouth, Sir J. B. Y. Buller, Sir 'l'. Dyke Acland, John Henry Vivian, C. R. M. Talbot, Lord Viscount Barrington, Sir George Thomas Staunton, Sir Charles Lemon, Joseph Bailey (Sudbury), and Hon. Sidney Herbert. Mr. PEA SE presented petitions from places in the county of Durham. praying for the abolition of the system of negro apprenticeship. Mr. VERNON SMITH presentel a variety of petitions on the same subject. Sir R. PE EL presented a petition from the Clergy of several united parishes in the county of Down, stating that in those parishes there were twelve Churches which required enlarging and seven rebuilding. They prayed that means might be aff.)rded them of encreasing the Church accommoda tion in those parishes. The Right Honourable Baronet then presented a petition from Carrowkeel, in the county of Cork, praying that some arrangement might be made with respect to the levying of tithes ; a petition from Clonmel, for extending spiritual accommodation to the Catholics in Canada ; and a petition from Evesham, against the Municipal Boundaries Bill. On the motion of an HoN. MEMBER, the London and Green wich Railway Bill was further considered, and ordered to be engrossed. COUNTY CORONERS' BILL. Mr. PAK INGTON, in rising to bring forward the motion of which he had given notice, on the subject of County Coroners, commenced by intreating the indulgence of the House, of which he stood in great need. He was about to propose very considerable alterations in one of the most ancient and important of their institutions : and he felt diffidence in approaching the subject when he considered that one of the oldest and most experienced Members of that House, his Hon. Friend, the Member for Cirencester, had been baffled in his many endeavours to bring about that alteration. He regretted that the subject had not been brought up by her Majesty's Government, as it was one well worthy of their con sideration. The object of his Bill was principally to put an end to the vexatious and harassing contested elec tions, by which many counties in the kingdom bad been at various times disturbed.—( Hear, hear.) He wished see men capable of filling the situation obtain it without the ruinous expense it had hitherto entailed upon them, and he wished to increase the compensation which had hitherto, been awarded to these functionaries. It was not necessary to detain the House by pointing out the anomalies and inconveniences of the present system. Three modes had suggested themselves which had all been made the subject of enactments submitted to that House. One was to restrict the franchise by disfranchising all below the value of forty shillings, and confining it to those who had a right to vote for Members of Parliament for counties. Another mode that had been thought of was to disfranchise the freeholders altogether, and give the power to the Crown. The third mode was to disfranchise the freeholders and transfer the choice to the magistrates at quarter sessions. With regard to the first lie thought there was a great and insuperable objection, for although the franchise would be restricted, the great evil which had hitherto existed would not be removed. The con tests in these elections was almost exclusively of a political character, and where the trial of party strength generally took place.—( Hear.) If the franchise was restricted to the voters for counties he thought the same evils would go on, and the expense attending elections would be but very little lessened. With respect to the second mode, he did not think it would be productive of good ; and as to the third, the trans fer to the Magistrates at Quarter Sessions there were certainly objections, but of the three modes it was decidedly the best. One objection which might be made to the Bill was that it would introduce party spirit on the bench, and disturb the unanimity amongst the magistracy. He could not subscribe to that opinion. He believed that the magistrates generally— he knew that in the county which he had tko honour to belong to—in the discharge of their public duties they were as free from party bias as it was possible for human nature to be. He might be told also, that by his Bill he was taking away a right which had been exercised by the free- holders from time immemorial. He could, however, cite instances where the Houses of Parliament had for the public benefit taken away individual rights. He would instance the case of the forty shilling freeholders in Ireland, whose rights were abolished for what was considered a great public benefit. He would also instance the case of the Municipal Reform Act, which in many instances had a dis franchising power. He would instance under that Bill the case of Macclesfield, which, previously to the passing of that Act, possessed a Coroner for the town separate from the county, and he was elected by the freemen of the town. By the Municipal Reform Act that office was abolished, and the rights of the freemen were taken away. The present mode of electing the Coroner by the freeholders at large was an antiquated custom, and not in accordance with the present distribution of property. He thought it was right that some mode of selecting the person who was to discharge the judicial duties of Coroner should be adopted, by which the public would be assured that the fittest person would be appointed to that office. He thought it would be also right that parties who might have the honor able ambition of wishing to fill the office of County Coroner, should not be exposed to the ruinous expense that was at present entailed on them. He was de sirous of assimilating, as far as he could, the elec tion of County Coroner to the mode in which the Coroners for cities were chosen under the Municipal Reform Act. The Municipal Corporation Act gave the appointment of the city and borough Coroners to the Town Councils; and al. though he did not think they offered the best pre cedent, because they were elective bodies, yet there was some analogy between them and those bodies to which his Bill proposed to give the appointment, namely, the Magistrates in Quarter Sessions. Another provi sion of his Bill was to divide counties into Coroners' districts —another to give Coroners the power of resigning their office, which at present they had not, without incur ring much expense and trouble, by application to the Lord Chancellor. Another provision was to attach to the jurisdiction of the nearest district Coroner, detached portions of counties, which in some cases were at considerable distances from the counties to which they belonged. He also pro posed to increase the fees and allowances to Coroners. He believed he was right in stating that Parliament had, in all cases where it was shown that the remuneration of these officers was inadequate, as compared with the duties which they had to perform, readily assented to every pro position that had been made to increase it. Where there were a number of candidates for the office, and they did not object to the amount of the remuneration, it was thought by some that that was sufficient evidence that it was equal to the nature of the duties to be performed by them. He did not think this, however, a fair way of look ing at the question. He thought they ought to look more to the respectability of the office, and to the importance of the duties appertaining to it, and if they did so they would find that the present rate of remuneration was any thing but adequate to them. He would not detain the House by going into calculations with respect to the changes which he proposed in the amount of fees. He would just state, generally, that he would limit himself to the same additions that had been made by the Bill brought in by his Hon. Friend near him last year, namely, that to the increase of 11. 6s. Bd. given by that Bill, there be a further increase to 303. ; and that instead of receiving 9d. one way, they should receive 93. each way, and be compensated for all travelling expenses. There was another point to which he would beg to call the attention of the Hon. and Learned Gentleman opposite (her Metesty's Attorney-General); hut at th e same time he begged to state that he intended it rather as a suggestion than as a point material to the objects of this Bill. By the Bill which had been brought in on a former occasion by the Honourable and Learned Gentleman, direc tions had been given to the Courts of Quarter Ses sions to prepare a scale of fees, the consequence of which was that in no two counties were the fees equal. Now he would wish to know whether in proceeding with a Bill of this kind it would not be desirable to take the opportunity of equalizing the fees all over the country. There only remained one other subject to which he requested the attention:of the House, and on which he begged to address himself to the Honourable Member for Bridport, who had for many years originated a motion on the subject he was about to mention,—he meant the important ques tion, whether or not in a Bill of this kind it was necessary that a declaratory or enacting clause should be introduced, that the Courts of Coroners are of necessity open. An attempt to introduce such a clause into the present Bill would have the effect of preventing its passing in another place. After what had passed last year, he thought it would be better to bring in a special Bill for this purpose, than to endanger the present by taking such a step. The Hon. Member concluded by moving for leave to bring in a Bill to alter and amend the laws relating to the office of County Coroner. Mr. C RIFFS seconded the motion for leave to bring in the Bill. The subject was one that he had brought forward most thanklessly for the last two years ; but he trusted the difficulties he had met with, would not beset the Hon. Mem ber who now brought it forward. He objected to giving the whole of the power of, appointing Coroners to the Magistrates at Quarter Sessions, but still he agreed with his Hon. friend that some change was absolutely necessary. He was in favour of giving to the county constituency in this respect all the advantages which they could derive from their franchise under the Reform Bill. He wished the Honourable Member success with his Bill, and hoped that his own objections would be removed. Mr. WA RBURT ON said that the Bill should have his most decided opposition. The Hon. Member for Droitwich professed to base his Bill upon the Municipal Reform Act, Which gave the appointment of Coroner to the Town Councils ; but there was no analogy between the Town Councils and the Magistrates in Quarter Sessions. The Town Councils were elective bodies ; and although the election was not quite popular, yet it was nearly so'; whereas the Ma gistrates in Quarter Sessions were not at all elective. It would be subversive altogether of the objects of the institution of Coroner to give the appointment to the Magistrates, whose conduct it would be the duty of the Coroners to investigate. For instance, in a case where lives had been taken in a riot, the question for the Coroner might be whether there had b^en sufficient cause to justify the Magistrates in ordering the Riot Act to be read. Surely it was important that the judicial officer who bad that enquiry to conduct should be popularly chosen, and not appointed by the:Magistrates. The office was one which above all others ought to be held by popular election ; but be had no objection to a better regulation as to the mode of election. Unless it was declared that Coroners' Courts were to be open, he thought that in the instances where the conduct of the Go vernment or the Magistrates was to be investigated the public would be excluded: such being his opinion he should, in Committee, move the insertion of a clause, that the Courts of all Coroners should be open. Mr. WAKLE Y felt himself bound to oppose the in troduction of the Bill, as he thought by it great inroads were made in the Constitution of the country, and the most atrocious propositions were included in it. The effect of this Bill would be to disfranchise nearly one mil lion of voters. He could tell the Hon. Member that there was no privilege which the people valued more dearly than that of electing this officer. He hoped, therefore, that the House would at once, and without ceremony, reject the proposition for receiving this Bill. In the discussion which would take place, the Hon. Member would see that the sense of the House was against him, and he hoped that he would withdraw his Bill, and join with him in requesting the Govern , ment to take the measure into their own hands. Sir G. STRICKLAND said that there was no one more anxious than he was to impart respectability and increased efficiency to the office of Coroner; but he confessed that he did not see any likelihood of attaining these objects by the Bill of the Honourable Member. He ( Sir George Strickland) did not agree in the propriety of giving the management under this Bill to the Poor-law Guardians. He thought that only one degree better than giving it to the Magistrates. He did not think that any good would be at tained by making the proposed alteration, and lie would therefore, oppose the motion of the Hon. Gentleman ( Mr. Pakington.) Sir EDWARD KNATCHBULL did not think that the appointment to so important an office as this should be left to four or five persona in large counties. lie had great reluctance in opposing the motion of his lion. lion. Friend, for whom he had very great esteem. He would not consent to depriving the freeholders of their present privileges—( Hear, hear)—but he thought some alte ration in the present system was advisable. Lord JOHN RUSSELL did not think the proposed trans fer of the election of Coroner from the freeholders to the magistrates in quarter sessions, was at all advisable. lie, therefore, opposed the motion. Mr. PAKINGTON said, that if Ministers would take the subject out of his hands, he was prepared to abandon the measure.—( Hear, hear.) If th. 3 Noble Lord did not under take the matter, he would take the sense of the House upon his motion. Sir E. SUGDEN recommended the Hon. Member to withdraw the Bill. Mr. PAKINGTON then withdrew the Bill. MANUFACTURE OF BONDED CORN. Colonel SEALE rose for the purpose of bringing forward the motion of which he had given notice on this subject. The Bill which he intended to propose was similar to one read a second time last session, and introduced by the late Member for Worcester (Mr. Robinson). The provisions of the Bill were as follow :—First, it would empower the Commissioners of Customs to erect buildings of a peculiar construction for the manufacture of bonded corn ; secondly, that the Commis. sioners should be empowered to deliver bonded corn to per sons occupying those premises on their giving security that, within a certain time—say two months, all corn so manufac tured should be exported or delivered again into the bonded warehouses for the purpose of exportation. The third part of the Bill provided further security that the provisions of the Bill should not be violated, and contained penalties, &c. The object of the Bill was to enable merchants trading to foreign countries, and particularly to distant colonies, to lay in sup plies in our own ports in this kingdom, and not be under the necessity, as at present, of going to Copenhagen, Hamburgh, Dantzic, and other northern ports for their supplies, at great inconvenience, cost, and loss of time. It was well known that a large trade was carried on in manufactured corn by America and the ports in the Baltic, to all parts of the world, and particularly to our West India colonies. In 1837 from Dantzic alone 200,000 barrels of flour were exported to our colonies. From the United States of America 800,000 barrels of flour were ex ported in like manner to the same destination. A comparison of expense would show the advantage to our merchants of opening this trade. The prime cost of flour in America was 423. ad. per barrel, port and insurance duties made it 4s. 3d. more. The import duty En the colonies was ss. per barrel, making it altogether 51s. 3d. per barrel. In England the prime cost of the flour manufactured from bonded corn would be 255. 3d. per barrel, the port duties, &c. would make it 2s. 6d. more, being in all 275. 6d. per barrel, thus effecting a saving of 235. 6d. per barrel. He might be told that this was seeking by a sidewind the repeal of the corn laws. This he denied. He, and those who concurred with him, denied this in toto. On the contrary, he thought the present measure, if carried, would strengthen the corn laws. He would conclude by moving that this Bill be now read a first time. Mr. COLLIER, in seconding the motion, contended that the effect of the present system was injurious to the manufac turing and commercial interests, without being in the slightest degree beneficial to those of agriculture. The Marquis of CHANDOS said that the present propo sition was, that foreign corn should be taken out of the Queen's warehouses and ground for exportation. He con ceived that if a removal of the corn was permitted, the preven tion of fraud would be impossible. Col. SE A LE—The grinding is to take place under lock. The Marquis of C H AN DO S--It would have to be removed for the purpose, and he much doubted if all their ingenuity could prevent fraud if that once took place. He was sure that the Honourable Member who made this motion had no inten tion of interfering with the Corn-laws, but that would be the effect of this Bill, and he felt bound to oppose this Bill, and also to state that if the Hon. Member succeeded in obtaining a first reading he would oppose it in every future stage. Mr. WARBURTON thought that nothing but mere sel fishness on the part of the agricultural gentlemen could offer any opposition to the motion of his Hon. Friend. Sir. E. KNATCHBULL denied the charge of selfishness as it was made, and he felt quite satisfied that his disclaimer would go quite as far with the country as the Honourable Member's assertion.—( Hear, hear.) He must say that in his opinion the present motion was a covert attack on the Corn laws, but he would not oppose it on that ground, but merely on the facility it would afford for fraud. Mr. P. THOMSON said that the motion was simply this, that foreign corn should be ground in this country, under lock, and the whole produce exported, for which bond was to be given.—( Hear.) The Noble Lord who feared fraud should recollect that a similar practice existed with respect to many articles under the Queen's lock. Under the security of that lock depended a great portion of the revenues of the country. For tobacco, which paid a duty of 1,000 per cent., there was no security but the Queen's lock ; for sugar, which paid 100 per cent., and for coffee, which a l so paid a high duty, there was no other security.—(Hear, hear, hear.) Now, if that lock could be picked as easily as it was supposed, what must be the insanity of those who, hav ing the power, would use it in the case of corn, which only paid a duty of 35 per cent., and would spare the tobacco, which paid 1,000 per cent.? There were, in fact, many pro cesses of manufacture carried on at this moment under lock, and no fraud was attempted, nor could be perceive the possi bility of fraud in the present instance. He would not give the Bill his support unless every particle. of the corn was ex ported, even the bran.—( Hear, bear, hear.) He did not anticipate from the measure the great benefits hoped for by some Hon. Members, but still he thought its adoption would be attended with some practical utility. A consider able change had taken place within the last four years in the corn-markets of the United States. Those places formerly supplied not only their home , consumption but exported largely, whereas they had now become places of considerable import. For the supply of the towns on the seaboard flour only was available, as the mills for grinding were far up in the interior ; and the Noble Lord opposite who had an objec tion to seeing large quantities of bonded corn in the Queen's stores would consequently see that the proposed measure of fered great facilities for getting rid of that porn by providing for its exportation in a manufactured state to America. But there was another argument in favour of the measure, and that was, the moral effect likely to be produced on the country by ' opposition to it. All agreed that the commercial classes would, in some degree, be benefited by it; and the question was, whether it would be worth while to stand up and refuse that class the benefit for which they contended. Even now there was a great feeling against the Corn-laws, but if other measures were refused on the plea of preserving those laws that feeling would be very much increased. Sir JOHN RE ID trusted the Bill would receive the sup port of all parties. Mr. LIDDELL, being quite convinced that the measure, while it would greatly benefit the commercial and shipping in terests, would not in the slightest degree militate against those of agriculture, would give it his support. Mr. M. PHILIPS said that this was a measure of the greatest importance to commercial persons, particularly to shipowners. He did not profess to be acquainted with the details, but he felt it his duty to support the principle. Mr. A. C HAPNIAN did not think that any fraud could be committed under the Bill. Twenty years' experience had convinced him that no fraud could be committed with respect to flour under lock. Colonel SIBTHORP could not agree with the Hon. Mem ber behind him (Mr. Liddell), nor could he place the same confidence in the Right Hon. the President of the Board of Trade. Experience of the past had rendered him cautious with respect to the future, and notwithstanding the sincerity with which the Right Hon. Gentleman might adhere to his views with respect to the fructifying nature of free trade prin ciple, he (Colonel Sibthorp) would not be induced to give credit to his reasonings thereon.—( Hear, hear, and a laugh.) He was opposed to the present Bill, because it would act as a direct encouragement to the importation of corn, and this would always hang over the heads of the farmers as a preven tive of cultivation.—(Hear.) There was something else in the wind, and he would caution the House as to its trusting any member of her Majesty's Government.—( Hear, hear.) He had the greatest respect for the Queen, but the Queen and the Queen's lock were two very different things.—( Hear, hear, and laughter.) The Queen and Queen's Ministers were also different things, in thought, word, and deed.—(Cheers, and laughter.) Colonel WOOD, if he thought the Bill would invade the principles of the Corn Laws, would be one of the most for ward to oppose it ; but so far from doing this, it only carried those principles into operation. The bulk of the article would be one of the best securities against fraud, and all that the agricultural interests could fairly ask was protection, so long as a sufficiency of corn was grown in those dominions to pro vide for our home consumption. After a few words from Mr. G. Palmer, Mr. Alderman Thompson, Lord Worsley, and Mr. Plumptre, Sir C. KNIGHTLEY considered the Bill a manoeuvre to get rid of the Corn Laws, as, if he had any doubt that it was so, the doubt would be removed by the support given to it by Government, as lie did not believe them capable of supporting any measure which was not opposed to the interests of the agricultural classes.__( Cheers and laughter.) Lord S ANDON should, though always friendly to the landed interest, support the Bill. Mr. W. ROC H E would not, as every precaution was taken against fraud, negative the motion for leave to bring in the Bill ; but, circumstanced as he was with his constituents, he could not give it his active support. Mr. P. HOWARD supported the Bill. Mr. W. MILES thought it was better to allow the Bill to be introduced. Colonel RU S II BRO OKE had heard nothing calculated to alter the opinions which he had previously entertained upon this question. It should be remembered that there were many rogues in grain—(" Hear, hear," and a laugh)—and in his opinion this measure was a first blow against the Corn-laws. Mr. VILLIERS admitted there were many rogues in grain Renewed laughter)—and if he had previousy entertained doubts as to that position the discussions upon this question would confirm him. The measure in itself was a miserable nibbling at a great principle : but as it might be productive of some little good, while it could lead to no evil, he should give it his support. Colonel SE ALE briefly replied. The House then divided— For the motion ... 127 Against it Majority 35 The House then resolved itself into Committee, the Attorney-General in the Chair. The resolution that foreign corn should be admitted to be ground under the Queen's lock was agreed to pro for►na, and ordered to be reported ; and the House resumed. Leave was then given to bring in the Bill, which was brought in accordingly. ELECTION COMMITTEES. Mr. O'CONNELL (who was next called for) said, that as he had been asked by the Noble Lurd the Member for North Lancashire not to bring on the motion Nhich steed in his name in his absence, he should, therefore, postpone it, as the Noble Lord was not then present. INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT. Mr. P. T HOM PSON moved for leave to bring in a Bill to provide for international copyright. The object of the Bill was to give to foreigners in this country the protection of the copyright of their works, and to obtain the same for English authors in foreign countries as much as possible. No one could say that works of genius in literature should not be pro tected in the same manner as works of genius in the me chanical and industrial arts, and yet such was not the case. No hardship was greater than that which authors of all countries endured in this instance. It was with the view of extending to that class of men of genius the same protection which those of the classes alluded to alieady enjoyed that he proposed to introduce this measure to the House. The Right Hon. Member then quoted several cases in which authors in this country had been deprived of the benefit of their genius and; labour; in other countries by cheap pirated editions of their works being printed and published abroad, and instanced the works of Mrs. Trollope, Mr. Bulwer, Sir Walter Scott, and Dr. Arnott in illustration of the fact. He also alluded to the reciprocal piracy of England and the United States in respect to the dictionaries of Dr. Webster and Dr. Richardson, and stated that by means of the system neither author received anything like a seasonable recompense for the time, and labour, and ability he had expended on his re spective work. The want of some protecting law also led to other evils—crime among the rest—for large sums were paid over to the compositors employed in printing any popular new work to pilfer the sheets, for the purpose of sending them to America or Paris for piratical republication. One of the last works of Sir Walter Scott, " Castle Dangerous," had been pilfered in that manner, and the consequence teas that it ap peared in Paris, and even in America, before it was published in London. What he meant to propose was, that the Crown should have a power of making a convention, or entering into a treaty, with any foreign Power for the mutual protection of the copyright of authors, subjects of either, with a right of fixing the terms of that treaty on a footing which should equalise the protection in each. The Crown under the pro visions of the Bill was to have also a power of prohibiting the introduction of spurious or pirated copies of any work printed and published in any State with which the convention should be made for an equal period of time as that State or country should allow a term of copyright to authors of this country, the maximum time to be fixed by the Legislature. The ma chinery for carrying those provisions into effect would be very simple. When the Bill should be passed it would be the en deavour of Government to enter into treaties with other Go vernments for the purpose of procuring a reciprocal protection for the works of British authors ; and from all he knew on the subject he was quite satisfied that they would experience little difficulty in coming to some effective arrangement. Mr. D'ISR AEL I sympathised with the object of the mo tion, but he conceived that there would be many difficulties in the way of ita success. He was of opinion that much might be done towards securing it in America, but he thought that it would be impossible from the prejudice of the trade to effect it in Paris. Sir R. INGLIS could not help thinking that the Govern. ment would find a great deal of difficulty in carrying this mea sure into operation. The reciprocity at present was all on the side of this country, and he was muc h a f ra id it would continue so unless it could be distinctly proved to the other countries in question that it was their interest to join in the matter. It should, however, be recollected that even now the author of a work has the power of securing the copyright in any other country by sending over the sheets as they pass through the press to be printed in that country. Lord J. RUSSELL said that, in regard to the subject of self-interest, it was clear from the reports on the subject that no country had suffered more than France from the want of such a protection as his Right Hon. Friend's Bill proposed to give. In his opinion England would gain a very great ad vantage from the measure, as the accession of France to any fair treaty founded on it could now be scarcely a matter of question—there being such an advantage on the side of th a t cou ntry proved to be involved in it. Some might consider that there would be considerable difficulty in agreeing to a convention, but it should be recollected that the subject had already excited much attention in France, Germany, and America. He believed that latterly Sir Walter Scott had derived some advantage from sending out to America early copies of his works, but the advantage was nothing more than was derived from the sale of an early copy. He believed that in America there was no remedy to provide against pi rated editions. Lord MAHON had been informed by the late Sir J. Mac intosh, that when his" Histury of Engl an d" was pr i nted in Paris the French publisher suppressed the fact that the con tinuation of his history was by another and an inferior hand, and which produced an impression unfavourable to this gen tleman. With respect to the question b e f ore t h e House, i t was a qu estion how an existing evil could be redressed, and he thought that their success depended m uc h more upon ne gociation than upon legislation. He w ou ld w i s h to k now whether any negociation had been commenced with the United States of America, whet.e he apprehended some difficulty. He also apprehended some difficulty as to G ermany w i t h respect to international copyright, for the several States themselves did not appear to have as yet agreed upon any law of copyright with respect to each other. He would not pledge himself to the principle of the Bill, but when it was introduced would be able to see whether he could give it his support. Ai r . WARBURTON had heard, from all who had spoken, consideration exclusively bestowed upon the interests of au thors alone, but he thought that the int erests o f t h e rea di ng public were also to be considered. Piracy had the effect, as he thought, of preventing authors and publishers charging too high for their works. H . e thought th e e ff ect o f th e Bill would be to establish an inquisitori a l system. B ut if t h e y we re to extend copyright to other countries it ought not to be extended beyond the period for which it existed by law in this country. Mr. G 0 ULB URN thought that there would be great dif ficulties in the execution of the measure. Whatever doubts he entertained as to the difficulty of carrying the law into effect, he was anxious to see the Bill brought in, and, if possible, to give more protection in this respect than existed at present. Mr. WA K LEY did not think there was any necessity to interfere with the matter at all ; but if it was to be legislated for, he would be happy to see a Committee appointed to in quire into the subject, and let them abide by the decision of the Committee. Mr. WYNN had great doubts as to the success of the mea sure, but was willing that the experiment should be made. After a few words from Mr. HUME, ➢lr. P. THOMPSON said the consideration of the ques tion had been pressed on him by individuals engaged in lite rary pursuits, and, whatever difficulties beset it, he had en deavoured to grapple with those difficulties. With respect to the United States of America he did not anticipate so much difficulty as had been suggested, for the power to make regu lations with respect to copyright was vested in the general Government. He did not either anticipate so much difficulty as had been suggested with respect to France or Germany. Leave was then given to bring in the Bill. THE POOR-LAW COMMITTEE. _ _ Mr. L A NGDAL E rose to move an instruction to the Pour law Committee, to inquire how far the Regulations of the Poor-law Commissioners have been compatible with the in mates of workhouses attending their respective places of worship on the Sabbath day, and to inquire and report how provision may be made for securing to all such inmates the power of attending divine service according to their respec tive creeds. His object in bringing forward the motion was to secure to every poor man the right of attending his own place of worship. Mr. LUSHINGTON seconded the motion. Lord J. RUSSELL would submit to the House that this was one of the questions submitted to the Poor-law Committee by their instructions, and that therefore any measure on the subject was premature. Mr. O'CONNELL would recommend his Hon. Friend to withdraw his motion until the matter was investigated by the Committee. Mr. BROTHERTON had had several complaints from unions of the difficulties thrown in the way of attendance at lilac(' of worship, After a few words from Mr. Blackstone, Lord J. Russell, and Mr. Galley Knight, Mr. LANGDALE withdrew his motion. SHERIFFS IN ENGLAND AND WALES. Colonel DAVIES moved for leave to bring in a Bill to re gulate th *office of High Sheriff in England and Wales. Leave given. ECCLESIASTICAL COURTS (IRELAND). Mr. BARRON moved for leave to bring in a Bill to conso lidate the jurisdiction of the Ecclesiastical Courts in Ireland. The Report of the Commissioners stated that great irregula rities existed in these Courts, and he therefore hoped that leave would be given to bring in the Bill. Mr. G 0 UL BURN could not see the propriety of, or ne cessity for, the present measure, at least until the House knew the intention of Government on the subject. Lord JOHN RUSSELL was rather inclined to agree with the Right Hon. Gentleman, that it would be better to post pone any measure on the subject until the intentions of Go vernment were declared. Mr. O'CONNEL L would recommend his Hon. Friend to withdraw his motion ; it was one of too much importance to originate anywhere but with the Government. After a few words from Mr. LITTON and Mr. WOULFE, leave was given to bring in the Bill. CHURCH BILL. Lord J. RUSSELL then rose to bring in a Bill for carry ing into effect with certain modifications the fourth report of the Church Commissioners. Sir R. INGLIS did not expect that a Bill of such import ance would be proposed by the Noble Lord within a quarter of an hour of the period when the Hon. Member for Salford ( Mr. Brotherton) was in the habit of moving the adjournment of the House. Lord J. RUSSELL said the measure which he was about to bring forward was one founded on the report of the Church Commission appointed during the time that the Right Hon. Member for Tamworth was at the head of the Govern ment. He had formerly brought forward a measure founded on the report of that Commission, and the measure which he was then about to lay before the House was somewhat similar. The Bill would recite in the preamble the whole of the report upon which it was founded.—( Hear.) It might be said that the report could not be exactly called the report of the Commissioners, and he admitted that there were some slight alterations which had been adopted at the sugges'ion of the Deans and Chapters, end of other per sons interested in preserving the property of the Church. One of the chief alterations made was, that, instead of taking away the patronage from the Deans and Chapters which they at present enjoyed, it was reserved to them so long as any of the body remained alive. The Commission came to an end in consequence of the demise of the Crown, and he (Lord J. Russell), by then being in a position to do so, proposed some modification of the report. There were two points upon which not additions but alterations were made. One of them was that they proposed to increase the number of persons for carrying the Act into effect, by giving the Crown the ap pointment of five others, three of whom were to be Church men. The next was to place some limit to the revenues of Deans and Chapters, as was at present the case with respect to Archbishops. For instance, any income of Deans being over 2,0001. per annum, and of Canons over the sum of 1,0001. per annum, should go to the augmentation of small livings. These were the only alterations of any consequence; all the rest of the Bill would be unfavourable to the recommendation of the Commission. On the second reading he should be pre pared to go more fully into the question, and at present con tent himself by moving for leave to bring in the Bill. After a few words from Sir R. Inglis, Messrs. G. Knight, Wynn, Gladstone, Pease, Ormsby Gore, and Goulburn, leave was granted to bring in the Bill. POOR LAWS (IRELAND). Lord J. RUSSELL begged of the Hon. and Learned Member for Liskeard to postpone his motion with respect to controverted elections, which stood on the paper for Friday next, as he was anxious to bring on the Irish poor-law Bill on that night, with the hope of carrying it through the House before the holidays. He also wished to have the Noble Lord the Member for North Lancashire present on the discussion of the Controverted Elections Bill, as that Noble Lord was known to take a strong interest in the measure. We understood the Hon. Gentleman to consent to the postponement. To a question from Mr. L E FRO Y, Lord J. RUSSELL replied that he should bring forward the Church Bill which he had just introduced in about ten days or a fortnight after Easter. The other Orders of the Day were then disposed of, the House having been counted out at half-past Twelve. HOUSE OF LORDS, MARCH 20. The LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat on the Woolsack at ten minutes past Five o'Clock. On the motion of the Earl of SHAFTESBURY, the Residence of Clergy Bill was reported with amendments, and ordered to be read a third time on Thursday next. The Bills on their Lordships' table were forwarded a stage. The Marquis of SLIGO presented petitions from Ponte fract, Bungay, and Lowestoff, praying for the abolition of negro slavery. Lord ROSEBERY presented a petition from the United Association Congregation of the city of Edinburgh, against any further endowment to the Church of Scotland. Earl WIN C HIL SE A presented a petition from the Pro testant inhabitants of Lambeth, complaining of the increase of Popery both in this country and in the colonies--complain ing that in the colonies Roman Catholic institutions had been established at the public expense, and that the prin ciples of our Established Church were more and more menaced by the Roman Catholic priesthood, and praying that immediate measures might be taken for the protection of our Established Church against the assaults of Popery. Tho Earl of RIPON presented a petition from certain proprietors in the Island of Barbadoes, expressive of their mortification that it should have been stated in their Lord ships' House, that the Bill relating to the Colonies, and which was to be further considered on Thursday next, should have been called for, in consequence of the Colonial Legislature not having properly discharged their duties, under the provi sions of the Negro Emancipation Bill. They did not deny the right of the Imperial Parliament—but they denied that, in consequence of their conduct in Barbadoes, this, which they regarded as a very strong measure, was at all called for. They also gave an extract from a dispatch received from the Noble Secretary of State for ,the Colonies, some time since, in reply to certain dispatches he had received, and in which he expressed his high gratification at the manner in which the authorities in Barba does had discharged their duties. He (Earl Ripon) regretted that his Noble Friend the Secretary of State for the Colonies, was not in his place at the time at which he presented this petition. Lord D ACRE presented petitions from Sheffield, Wel lingborough, in Northamptonshire, a place in Hertford, and from Wooten-under -Edge, praying for the immediate aboli tion of Negro Slavery. On the motion of Lord WHARNCLIFFE, certain re turns were ordered relative to the Canadas. POOR LAWS (SUSSEX), Lord WYNFORD presented a petition from Lewes, against the New Poor-law Act, stating that crime had much increased in the county of Sussex since the passing of that Act. The Duke of RICHMOND said he did not know whether the meeting, at which this petition was agreed to, was a large or a small one ; it might be a large one, for at the last elec tion for Lewes there had been a very severe contest, and the Poor-law had been made a grand " cheval de bataille." In the Western division of the County there certainly had been a more than usual number of offences ; but in the Eastern division the Magistrates were of opinion that the increase of crime had been owing to the suppression of smuggling, which had thrown upon the country a great number of men who were quite disinclined to work.--( Hear, hear.) With respect to the western p art o f S ussex, h e b egge d to as sure his Noble Friend that in 1886, on the 17th of February, the number of persons in custody in the House of Correction of Petworth was 105, and on the 17th of February in the present year there were only 40. Much of that, he was awar e, might be attributed to the excellent system of prison discipline carried on then, but still it was evident that crime was much on the decrease in that part of the country. It was evident, then, that the petitioners spoke of what they really knew nothing about, and when they referred to the state of crime they must have been alluding to the opera tion of the Poor-law Act in other parts of the country. Lord WYNFORD said, it was very likely that crime was, in some respects, diminished in that part of the country which had the benefit of his Noble Friend's assistance, but, in the other parts of it, it was decidedly increased. It was also de cidedly increased in Kent, in Dorsetshire, and, he might add, tions. in every part of the Kingdom, since the Poor-law Amendment Act came into operation; for, by tho returns on their Lordships' table, it appeared that there was an incre::se of 900 in each of the last two years. The Duke of RICHMOND explained. Earl STANHOPE had petitions to present from dif ferent parts of the country, but they were all agreed upon one point, and as the subject was of very consi derable importance, he hoped he might be permitted to call their Lordships' attention to it. The first petition was from AlMondsbury, in the West Riding of Yorkshire ; and the petitioners stated that if the Poor-law were car ried into effect in that district, there would be no peace in society, and no security for property—that it would cause a wide breach between the rich and the poor, and induce the latter, not without reason, to consider the former as their most dangerous and deadly enemy. The next petition was from Halifax, in the West Riding of Yorkshire. He had also petitions from South Gloston, from Bradford, and various other places in Yorkshire. Also from Todmorden, Towerby, Rickston, Hulme in Manchester, and Huddersfield. The Noble Earl then said that although he did not anticipate that there could by any possibility be any opposition to so unexceptionable a motion as that he had then to bring under their Lordships' notice, yet he felt it would be his duty to preface the motion with a few obserya . As some - Noble Lords had stated that the New Poor Law had been beneficial in its working, and that it had been hailed as a boon by the people, it was incumbent upon him to show that it was detested by all classes of the people. He was thoroughly convinced, and he would endeavour to con vince their Lordships that it was not—could not be—accept able to the labouring classes of this country ; on the other hand he would show that it must be looked upon with horror by them in the fear that through misfortune they might be obliged to seek relief under its provisions. The cri terion of the popularity or unpopularity of a measure was to be found in the feelings of the people as shewn by them in their petitions. From a report of a Committee of the other House, he found that for a total repeal of the Act, petitions had been presented with 201,000 signatures; for the repeal of clauses 3,000; and for the amend ment of the Bill 63,000 signatures, making a total of 269,000 persons who petitioned, either totally or specifically, against the measure ; while, on the other hand, in favour of the mea sure, only 35 petitions had been presented, with 258 signatures. The petition which he had had the distinguished honour to present from the West Riding of Yorkshire was received only as the petition of the individual Mr. William Stokes who had presided at the meeting, though it spoke the opinions of three hundred thousand independent Protes tants against the continuance of the greatest public grievance which this country had ever been oppressed with. These pe titions were the more entitled to their Lordships' considera tion, and to be regarded as true, genuine, spontaneous expres sions of public opinion, inasmuch as this was a subject upon which no religious enthusiasm whatever had been excited, as in the case of the petitioners against negro slavery—a subject with which no sectarian principles had been mingled, as in the case of the petitions against the Church-rates—a subject upon which no party politics had influence, as in the case of the petitions for the Bal lot ; but on the contrary, persons of all political opinions— and especially a subject upon which the Conservatives and Radicals had united together with persons of every religious persuasion, and cordially co-operated as in one common cause. From whom did the petitions proceed in favour of the law ? It was natural to suppose that some persons were benefitted by the law, and it was, of course, quite a natural thing for them to come forward to complain of any attempt to prevent them from continuing to enjoy those benefits. Had the labouring class of society, when the Poor-law had been in operation, come forward to ask their Lordships to continue and cherish that measure, as a measure which had established their character and benefitted their families ? No such petition had yet been presented, and their Lordships could not expect that any such petition would ever be received, though they should be waited for till the day of judgment. Petitions had been presented by some of those who by a strange misnomer had been called Guardians. Of wha s t w ere they Guardians ? Not of the property—not of th e poor, —nor of the poorest of her Majesty's subjects, because the money was expended by them, not according to their own discretion, but according to the rules and orders issued by the great dictators cf Somerset House.—( Hear, hear, hear.) Petitions had not been so numerous against the measure, because many parts of the country were in a degrading and disgraceful state of intimidation. In Cambridgeshire and in other counties the labourers had been threatened, that if they atttended the anti-Poor Law meetings, they would be deprived of their employment. No wonder that they pre-. ferred avoiding the immediate and pressing evil, starvation, out of the workhouse, than the contingent evil of imprisonment within its walls I But if the ballot were adopted there would be abundance of petitions signed against the Bill.—(Hear' hear, and a laugh.) The Secr e t ar y at W ar (L°r" ,, Ilowick) had said in the House of Commons, there had been no burnings and riotings in the agriesti tural counties, in consequence of this Bill.—( Hear, beer.) Was there no other proof of the existence of this distress and discontent? Would no evidence be satisfactory to the Noble Lord and his colleagues, unless acts of vi o l ence an d outrage took place, and the peace of the kingdom w as ser i ous ly endan gered ? If the Noble Lord and his collea g u es h a d no t th e saga city to discover such symptoms, bef o r e suc h events too k place, he feared they would remain ignorant o f the existence of the disease until it became aggravated, and assumed a form which they and others would find to be intolerable. It had been said that all the agitation in the manufacturing districts, and all the petitions which had proceeded from them, had been got up by about a dozen individuals, who were represented as not very respectable. He wished to know whether those were respectable who encouraged and promot - ed that senseless Bill, so acceptable to the Ministers of that day —the Bill, the whole Bill, and nothing but the Bill —as, if the new Reform Bill were the very perfection of hursan rea son, and the great masterpiece of human legislation, instead of being on the other hand so unreasonable as well as unjust , that it could not possibly long be allowed tq continue. Instead of securing, as it ought to have done, a full, fair, and free representation of all classes of the community, it gov° a preponderating power to one class only—to the newly created class of ten-pounders, and excluded the labouring classes, who were the most numerous, the most meritorious , as well as the most useful and valuable members of society; but it was said they were not respectable. He (Lord S.) de tested every species of prid e , an d among others t hat pride of purse, which disparaged a man because he was poor, and considered wealth to be the best criterion of respectability . With respect to those individuals with whom he (Earl Stan hope) had been in constant correspondence and comraunica7, tion, he would say, that they w ere as eminently distinguished by their talents, and the extent and variety of their informa tion, as by their patriotism and humanity. If he were t o admit the allegation of the Noble Lord, it would overset the whole Noble Lord's argument, because if they did not possess ii? - fluence or talent, would it be possible for these dozen indi viduals, who had agitated the manufacturing districts, to hale produced such an effect, except the new Poor-law Bill Wag known and felt in those districts to be an intolerable grievance ? It was evident that her Majesty's Ministers were deceived as to the operation of this Act, and he hoped, ere long, that the voice of the country would make them say, and convince them, that it had been most mischievous and fatal in its results- Before the people of this country could quietly submit to the New Poor-law, they must be made to believe that tyranny and oppression were preferable to kindness and humanity. He would not, on that occasion, say so much as one word respecting the uncontrolled, and, he believed, illegal tyranny of the triumvirate at Somerset House. Ho would have another opportunity of stating his sentiments upon that subject. Under the old law, a poor man had to make application to his own neighbour —to one 'who knew him, and was well acquainted with his character. Now he was obliged to make his application to what was called s relieving officer, residing at a distance, and one to whom he was not known ; and therefore the poor labourer was obliged. to lose very considerable time in making such application- Ile was aware that some thirty or forty of their Lor:le ships had condescended to accept the office of Chair man of the Boards of Guardians ; so far from possessing real power—they had not even the shades' , of it—they had not even the power of giving such diet as they pleased to their own poor. They were obliged to adhere to the orders given them from Somerset House ; and if they rebelled for a third time, they were liable, Chairman and all, to be sent to the Treadmill. Under the former system the labourer received speedy, if not immediate relief. Under the present law, from the forms which it pre scribed, from the difficulties which it seemed studiously to in terpose in the way of applications for relief, he ( Earl Stan hope) knew in Suffolk in many cases a delay of ten days halt occurred between the application for relief and the administra tion of the same. If, contrary to any reasonable expectatioeu the labourer did not receive from the vestry the relief to wisilb he was fairly and justly entitled, he could then appeal to the. magistrate, but this the law now prevented, for under the present system the magistrates and vestries had both become: mere nullities. The labourer, after going a considerable dis tance, might have at last obtained the favour of being admit ted into the prison of the Board of Guardians ; and here be would refer to the county of Suffolk, not because he had any' connection with it, either by property or residence, but be , cause it was one of the counties in which, in some parts, tho Poor-law was most harshly enforced. If he quoted his authority, it would be one of the greatest weight with the Noble Earl whom he saw on the cross benches. The gentle man was a considerable landed proprietor in :the county, con spicuous and generally revered for his benevolence, not OP posed in principle to the measure, but so disgusted with the brutality with which applications were received, that. he refused to attend the board of guardians. The poor la-- bourer might come and say, I have a sick wife, or I have' buried my wife ; b u t h e was d es i re d to b e s il ent, an d me rely to answer the qu es ti ons as k e d hi m . Thi s was the sort o f justice dispensed b y t h e b oar d s o f guar di ans. Then i f app l ic ation were made fo r ou t-d oor re li e f t h e guar di ans o f t h e T r i u mvirate at Somerset H o u se , i n t h e i r ki n d ness an d lib era li ty , w ere gra ciously pleased to sanction the application, and might giv e re lief—but to what extent ? Seven pounds of flour per week, to make into d ump li ngs or h asty pu ddi ng, for t h e poor people i had no ovens to b a k e i t in, and sixpence p e r week. II a consid era bl e num b er o f un i ons, by the order of S o merset. Ilouse, if thi s out-door relief were 'refused the labourer way to_ be imp r i sone d. Th at was an exper i ment w hi c h was to be made on the unfortunate individual to try what was tlea minimu m o f su b s i stence on w hi ch human na t u re could exist, and what extent of suffering he was willing to un dergo, b e f ore h e res i gne d hi s liberty and was willing to be come the inmate of a prison. What were the opinions ex pressed on this subject by the greatest Minister this country ever saw—by a statesman who having steered the vessel of the State with safety and in honour amidst a tempest unexam pled for its difficulty, danger, and duration, was justly &nom'. nated " the pilot who had weathered the storm"—and, un-